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Carver County authorizes change order to fix settlement on Highway 212 in Dahlgren Township
Summary
The board authorized Change Order 17 for the Highway 212 project after staff said poor soils caused a roughly six-inch settlement; MnDOT has earmarked about $3.2 million to contribute and staff said work will run through the summer with excavation and repaving.
Carver County commissioners voted to authorize a change order to repair a settlement on Highway 212 in Dahlgren Township after staff described subsurface soils that continue to shift.
Darren, a county staff presenter, told the board the settlement is “on the order of maybe 6 inches or so” and that further excavation and backfill would be required to ensure the roadway’s long-term stability. He said MnDOT has “set aside $3,200,000 to go towards this effort” but that MnDOT’s funding was contingent on making the work part of the existing contract with Mathiowetz Construction rather than re-bidding it. Darren said additional costs emerged during final reconciliation because some labor costs and fuel escalation were not included in the contractor’s earlier estimate.
Commissioner Fahey moved to authorize the county engineer to approve and execute Change Order 17; Commissioner Anderson seconded the motion. The board approved the motion by voice vote. The staff presentation said initial work would begin in May to construct traffic crossovers and that excavation and repaving are expected to continue through the summer with substantial completion targeted for September.
In discussion, commissioners asked whether more soil borings or different geotechnical testing could reduce similar risks on future projects. Darren and other staff said the project team used standard borings and newer approaches (including CPT testing and 3D modeling on current phases) but that even a dense grid of borings cannot guarantee discovery of every deep pocket of poor soils. Staff also described the limits of warranty claims: if contractors built to plans and specifications and testing requirements, the owner (the county/state) may carry the long-term risk for unexpected subsurface conditions.
Next steps: the county engineer will execute Change Order 17 and staff will notify the public about the expected traffic crossovers and excavation schedule. The board did not provide a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript; the motion passed on a voice vote.
